I had my bloods taken at Al Ahli, I cannot verify the costs as we are insured and I don't remember what the fees are. But if you head to the desk in front of the laboratory on the ground floor, through the main entrance on the left hand side (opposite the cafe) I am sure they would advise or assist you there. I am not sure however if you need a written request from a GP to do this though, so you may need to check first. I believe Hamad do this test as well but I am not sure of the procedure there.
What I would say though is that the blood test is not 100% accurate. I believe there is a high false positive rate and the results are generally correct in 85% of cases. If it was combined with an NT measurement (from 12 week scan) then the results give a 95% success rate. But as your wife is approaching 16 weeks the window for that measurement will have been missed because you only have up to 13 weeks and 6 days. Dependent on age and given the high false positive rate it is important to assess whether it would be worth having the test or just waiting for the anomaly scan. It can cause a lot of unnecessary pressure and worry especially if the age of the woman would already put her at high risk (obviously I do not know your wife's age so cannot comment). There are tables on the internet which gives the figures for the 'risk dependent on age'.
Also, the other question is why you would want the test. Would it be to prepare for the birth of a child with problems or would it alter the pregnancy in any way? Just some questions to ask yourselves so you know if it would be worth the worry should the result not come back with a 'good' result.
I hope the pregnancy goes well and wish you both luck.
Here's the response from my friend:
I had my bloods taken at Al Ahli, I cannot verify the costs as we are insured and I don't remember what the fees are. But if you head to the desk in front of the laboratory on the ground floor, through the main entrance on the left hand side (opposite the cafe) I am sure they would advise or assist you there. I am not sure however if you need a written request from a GP to do this though, so you may need to check first. I believe Hamad do this test as well but I am not sure of the procedure there.
What I would say though is that the blood test is not 100% accurate. I believe there is a high false positive rate and the results are generally correct in 85% of cases. If it was combined with an NT measurement (from 12 week scan) then the results give a 95% success rate. But as your wife is approaching 16 weeks the window for that measurement will have been missed because you only have up to 13 weeks and 6 days. Dependent on age and given the high false positive rate it is important to assess whether it would be worth having the test or just waiting for the anomaly scan. It can cause a lot of unnecessary pressure and worry especially if the age of the woman would already put her at high risk (obviously I do not know your wife's age so cannot comment). There are tables on the internet which gives the figures for the 'risk dependent on age'.
Also, the other question is why you would want the test. Would it be to prepare for the birth of a child with problems or would it alter the pregnancy in any way? Just some questions to ask yourselves so you know if it would be worth the worry should the result not come back with a 'good' result.
I hope the pregnancy goes well and wish you both luck.